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ARCHBISHOP JOHN HUGHES 

American Envoy to France (1861 



By 
V. F. O'D. 



Reprint from The Catholic Historical Revi-jw, Vol. Ill (1917). pp. 33G-339 






.H?1 






DOCUMENTS 

ARCHBISHOP JOHN HUGHES 
American Envoy to France (1861) 

The Most Reverend John Hughes, to whom was entrusted the important 
international mission to be seen in the annexed photographed copy of the letter 
of William H. Seward, Secretary of State at the time, was a remarkable church- 
man and endowed with extraordinary parts. Whether we regard him as an 
ecclesiastic or as a citizen, he will always stand in the front rank of the great 
men of his adopted country and of the world. Living and dying in stirring 
times, it was providential for Church and State that John Hughes occupied the 
post he did. He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, June 24, 1797.^ He 
came to the United States as a young man of twenty in 1817. In Ireland he 
had succeeded with much difficulty in acquiring an education, and after his 
arrival in America, with a courage that was little short of heroic, he managed 
gradually to add to his store of knowledge until he was admitted in 1819 into 
Mount St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Md. There the ardent student's 
progress was remarkable.^ He was raised to the priesthood on October 15, 
1826, by Bishop Conwell of Philadelphia, in old St. Joseph's Church, and was 
sent to St. Augustine's Church in that city. Later he became pastor of St. 
Joseph's.' In this new field of labor Father Hughes' tireless energy, his industry 
and love of study, combined with his great gifts of mind, soon caused him to be 
recognized as one of the coming lights of the Church in America. His early 
life as a priest was cast in a period of turmoil and of deep-rooted religious preju- 
dice; but with a strong character that knew no fear, the young clergyman, from 
the day of his ordination, grappled boldly with the problems which confronted 
him and attained a success that foretold a brilliant future. His theological 
controversies, all of which were forced upon him and in all of which he was the 
victor, were indeed numerous. The historic religious controversy which he 
had in 1835 with the Reverend John A. Breckenridge, a distinguished non- 
Catholic di\'ine, served perhaps more than anything else in his early priesthood 
to reveal Father Hughes' remarkable ability, as well as to draw the attention 
of the country towards him, and to win him a wide circle of admirers. 

On January 7, 1838, Father Hughes was consecrated Coadjutor-Bishop of 
New York. Four years later he became its fourth Ordinary, and in 1850 its 
first Metropolitan. In New York he found a sphere of activity at once broader 
and better suited to the display of his talents, and he was quickly acknowledged 
as one of the country's leading churchmen, and as one of the intellectual giants 



^Cf.HASSARD, Life of John Hughes. New York, 1866. BRANt^, Life of John Hughes. New York, 
1892. Works of John Hughes, published by Kehoe, in two volumes. New York, 1888. 

'UcSv.EESW,TheStoryofthe Mountain, Vol. i. pp. 89. 99, 126; Vol. ii. pp. 11-12, 41, 108. 
Emmitsburg, 1911. 

•KiRLlN. Catholicity in Philadelphia, pp. 256. 261, 274, 276. Philadelphia. 1909. 

1 



2 DOCUMENTS 

of his age. No less patriotic than religious, he took a keen interest in all the 
questions, religious and civic, which occupied the public mind of the United 
States. The part he played in the correction of the school system of the city 
of New York and the bold, effective stand he took against the Native American 
party in 1844, and the Know-nothing Party in 1854, can never be forgotten by 
those imbued with the true spirit and genius of our great American republic. 

The great Archbishop's singular gifts of mind and heart, together with his 
uncompromising Catholic spirit, his intense patriotism and deep love for America, 
kept him prominent also in all social movements. No man of his day, in fact, 
possessed a more statesmanlike grasp of the genius and democratic spirit of the 
American commonwealth. Even when the very existence of its institutions 
was threatened, his confidence was luishaken. He looked upon the Republic as 
the refuge and the home of those fleeing from oppression, persecution, and 
poverty in other lands. That this home might be the happier, that the Republic 
might be more prosperous, and its institutions and its spirit more secure, that 
here the barriers of national prejudices might be levelled, and the people moulded 
into one homogeneous nation, he devoted, without thought of honor or of 
recompense, all his rare powers of oratory, his talents as a controversialist, his 
ability as a writer, and his commanding genius as a leader of men. 

The great Ajchbishop's utter fearlessness, his towering character, his pro- 
found patriotism, and his extraordinary mental endowments won him the confi- 
dence and intimate friendship of many of the most distinguished men of his day ; 
while they compelled the respect and commanded the admiration, if not the love, 
of those who felt the weight of his opposition. In 1846, President Polk prof- 
fered the gifted churchman a diplomatic mission to Mexico which he could not 
accept. In 1847, at the invitation of John C. Calhoun and Stephen A. Douglas, 
he lectured before Congress in the National Capitol. During the Civil War 
(1861-65) he spared no effort to conserve our national integrity. His useful 
suggestions and wise counsel on the conduct of the war were highly appre- 
ciated by President Lincoln. "I submit your letters to the President," Seward 
writes on October 12, 1861, "and he reads all you write to me with deep in- 
terest." Hughes' correspondence with Lincoln is still preserved in the Dun- 
woodie Archives. It was in consequence of this correspondence of the war, 
that the Catholic Archbishop was called to Washington by Secretary Seward 
in October, 1861, and entrusted with the important commission revealed in the 
following letter, the original of which is carefully kept in the Dunwoodie 
Archives. 

{Transcription) Department of State, 

To His Grace Washington, Nov. 2, 1861. 

Archbishop Hughes. 
Sir: 

You will repair to Paris and will deliver to Mr. Dayton^ the despatch herewith 
handed to you. You will, on your way thither, make yourself master of the con- 
tents thereof by reading the copy which is confidentially entrusted to you.* You 

* William Lewis Dayton (1807-64) was United States Minister to France from 1861-1864 

• This copy (37 pp.). dated Department of State. Washington, October 30, 1861, from Mr. Seward 
to Mr. Dayton, still exists among the Hughes MSS. at Dunwoodie Seminary 



DOCUMENTS 3 

will confer with Mr. Dayton upon the subject, and explain to him verbally my views 
in desiring the fullest attainable knowledge of the dispositions of the French Govern- 
ment, whether friendly or otherwise, and especially its views on the several questions 
set forth in my despatch. At the same time you will be expected to do this in the 
most confidential manner, deferring in all cases to Mr. Dayton's judgment, and acting 
as auxiliary to him only at his cheerful request, and only to the extent that he thinks 
your relations and associations in Paris and in Europe may enable you to be useful 
to him. 

He will be expected to receive you as a trusted, confidential, loyal and devoted 
citizen, who assumes this duty at much sacrifice to himself, and only on the earnest 
request of the President of the United States, upon mature conviction of its impor- 
tance resulting from a conference with his advisers. 

While in Paris, you will study how, in conjunction with Mr. Dayton, you can 
promote healthful opinions concerning the great cause in which our country is now 
engaged in arms. You will extend your visit to any part of Europe you may think 
proper, and will consider yourself at liberty to stay until recalled." 

I have the honor to be 

Your Grace's very obedient servant, 

WrLLiAM H. Seward. 

It was largely through the Archbishop's efforts that France was prevented 
from following in the footsteps of England, and throwing the weight of her 
sympathies with the Confederate States. Wherever he traveled in Europe, he 
was accorded an honorable reception. He left nothing undone to promote the 
cause of the Union, and did much to enlist the sympathies of the Old World in 
the preservation of the American Republic. Again, at the time of the draft riots 
in the city of New York in 1863, his services were requested by Governor Horatio 
Seymour to quiet the disorders. Although much broken in health, the patriotic 
Metropolitan readily accepted the call to duty, and addressed the excited people 
with good effect. This was one of his last public acts; from that time he rapidly 
declined in health until the day of his death, January 3, 1864. In all his public 
deeds, however, the great Catholic Archbishop but followed the teachings of 
his Church, doing for his own country on the patriotic scale afforded him by 
his own superior talents, what his confreres have always done the world over. 



•Archbishop Hughes !eft Paris, February, 1862, and visited Ireland, where his presence aroused an 
intense enthusiasm for the North. Later in the same month he went to Rome, where he had the 
opportunity of informing Pius IX and Cardinal Antonelli of the true state of affairs in America. On 
leaving Rome he set out for Spain, but his health prevented him from reaching Madrid. Later he 
travelled through France and England, and preached at the laying of the corner-stone of the Catholic 
University of Dublin, on July 20, 1862. He sailed early from Queenstown in August for New York, 
and arrived there on August 12. "On the archbishop's arrival, the whole city turned out to greet 
him. The municipal authorities presented him with congratulatory addresses. After a few days' 
rest he went to Washington. There he was invited to dinner by Secretary Seward. The day fi.^ed for 
the dinner was Friday, and the Archbishop suggested that it was not a good day for a banquet. ' Never 
mind,' said the secretary, 'I shall see that you will be provided for.' When the very large and dis- 
tinguished company met in the dining hall, there was no meat of any kind on the table. All were 
compelled to eat fish. The Archbishop often said that this was the most delicate compliment ever 
paid to him. Mr. Lincoln's Government soon after intimated to the Holy See that it would be pleased 
if the Archbishop, who had done so much for the country, should be raised to the dignity of cardinal." 
Brann, o?. c»/., pp 165-66. 



4 DOCUMENTS 

His correspondence with Mr. Seward was an extensive one, as can be seen 
from the numerous letters of the Secretary of State still preserved in the Arch- 
diocesan Archives of New York, at Dimwoodie Seminary. From their general 
tenor, the choice of the Archbishop to offset the influence of Mason and Slidell, 
who had already gone to Europe as Commissioners of the Confederate States, 
is not at all surprising. The honor conferred upon him by his country was 
fully justified, and the story of his mission, with the details of his interviews 
with French statesmen, and particularly with Napoleon III and the Empress, 
will always be a vital part of the history of the Civil War. 

V. F. O'D. 







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